


Hot and Cold

by robin_X3



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Implied Relationships, Light Angst, M/M, POV Outsider, Spoilers for episode 9 (but not really)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:01:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29325900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robin_X3/pseuds/robin_X3
Summary: Five times everyone thought Reki and Langa were dating.(And one time they actually were.)
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 43
Kudos: 750





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bsm707](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bsm707/gifts).



> All my love to [Bsm707](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bsm707) for your constant encouragement and support! ❤

It was no little known fact around school that Reki and Langa were  _ “an item,” _ after all, they were  **always** together. 

From day 1, no, from the moment Langa introduced himself to the class, they’d all felt a subtle shift in the air in the classroom. 

The girls were all starry-eyed and swooning at the sight of him- you didn’t often see a person who so perfectly fit the definition of the term-  _ Ikemen _ . Because that was what Langa was, an ikemen: pale skin and light-haired and blue-eyed, he was handsome in more than just the traditional sense. Even though he seemed cold and unapproachable, somehow that made him all the more desirable to the girls. Any questions they asked him were answered in clipped, short sentences, with an accent that bespoke of his not-native tongue.

_ They’d later find out that Langa was something of an airhead. Self-conscious about his accent and his Japanese, the reason Langa didn’t speak much was because he didn’t know how to carry on a conversation, and not because he thought he was too good for them, as they’d initially assumed. _

  
  


The boys, predictably, were jealous of all the attention the newest exchange student was getting. There was already enough competition with their school’s basketball team being a top candidate for love, and they knew very well that adding a pretty boy like him to the mix was only going to lower their chances in the dating pool.

_ No one knew exactly who it was that came up with the idea to haze the new kid, but everyone knew who put a stop to it before it came to fruition. _

“Who’re you gonna rough up? Let me in on it too!”

“R-R-REKI!!”

The redhead beamed, oblivious to the rising tension in the group. 

“It’s the new kid.” One of the boys in the group, a blond boy with piercings, stood up, chest puffed out. He wasn’t like the rest of them- he wasn’t  _ scared  _ of Reki. Yes, he knew the rumors- those that said Reki was a boss of a secret underground ring of delinquents, or that he was a young master of the  _ yakuza _ , living among them under a false name until he became of age, and took over the family business. 

He eyed the way Reki was covered in bandages again, the fading bluish-purple bruise on his chin now matching the new splotches of angry reds across both his arms, and gulped. “So what’re you gonna do about it?” If the strength of confidence in his voice decreased with every word, no one said anything about it.

“Nothing, nothing.” Reki’s hand descended on his shoulder, his grip solid, unmoving, and his smile grew wider. The group winced collectively as Reki’s already split lip started trickling blood. Reki didn’t even wince at that, just continued to stare at them with unbidden excitement. “I’d love to see how my dear Langa fares in a  _ fair fight _ .” The glimmer in his eyes sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

_ Needless to say, no one dared lay a finger on ‘Reki’s dear Langa’ after that. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these skater boys so much I just **had** to write about them! (◕‿◕)


	2. Chapter 2

_ ‘What’s going on here?!’ _

“Reki, slow down.” Langa admonished, exasperated.

“Mmm but thish ish sho good.” Reki said through a mouthful of pizza, sauce dribbling down the corners of his mouth and onto his mustard yellow jacket.

Shaking his head, Langa reached out and wiped it off. “You’re not a five year old.”

Miya stared, eyes wide in shock and surprise, at the pair acting like a couple of lovebirds from across the table. Langa was something of a clean-freak, to put it nicely. Or maybe he didn’t like sharing his things. The two were not mutually exclusive- Langa didn’t like other people touching or riding his skateboard (but it was okay if Reki did), he made a fuss at the onsen trip when they had to share a room and bathroom (but had ended up on the same futon as Reki without putting up a fight), he never let anyone ride his scooter because  _ “It isn’t safe” _ (but he let Reki ride behind him, claiming  _ “Reki is injured and needs all the help he can get”) _ . And now he was wiping Reki’s mouth with  _ his  _ napkin! Miya was beginning to see a pattern here...

“Aww, but that’s what I have you for.” The redhead beamed back, appreciation clear in his expression. “Thanks..ooh what’s that?” Like an excitable puppy, Reki’s attention was drawn to the steaming plate of food that was just deposited at their table.

“It’s my poutine.” Langa said, a twinge of possessiveness evident in his voice.

“Wanna share?” Reki chirped, eyes twinkling in excitement, drool already gathering at the corner of his mouth.

_ ‘Grow a spine!’  _ Miya silently pleaded. _ ‘Say no!!” _

“Just a taste!” Langa warned.

“Wait a minute!” Miya complained, banging his fist on the table.

“Fwhat ish itt Miya?” Reki asked through a mouthful of-  _ didn’t that  _ **_just_ ** _ arrive? How is it not burning his tongue? What is his skin  _ **_made_ ** _ of?? _ \- poutine. 

“I- uh.” Miya hadn’t prepared a good argument. “I’d like some too.”

“Sorry, can’t do that.” Langa pulled away his more than half-empty plate of poutine from under Reki’s pouting face towards himself. 

“Why? You let Reki have it.”

“He only took a bite.” 

“Puh-lease.” Miya scoffed at that, arms folded defiantly- the plate was practically empty! 

Langa wasn’t done. “I remember you saying controlling nutrition was important for pro-athletes like you.” 

The child-skater looked down at the unappetizing plate of salad he had been picking at since they’d arrived, and started to argue. “It’s not fair-” Miya’s stomach chose that moment to growl noisily, as if agreeing to Langa’s statement.

“It’s only fair that I respect your choices. You see..”

Miya gaped, scandalized, as Reki took the opportunity of Langa being distracted to pull the plate towards himself, and shovelled forkfuls bigger than what is humanly possible, finishing the remainder of Langa’s food as he continued to lecture Miya.

“..besides, I’m starving.” Langa finally finished his lecture, none of which Miya had paid any attention to, and finally took stock of the state of his plate.

Silence descended on the room as, as if in slow motion, Langa turned towards Reki. Miya felt his heartbeat slow down, all of his attention focusing on Langa and Reki, bracing himself to see, for the first time ever, the always cool and composed Langa blowing his fuse.

“Reki, you-”

Reki burped. Loud. Messy.  _ Gross. _

Like a balloon filled with water, the tension in the room popped, and Langa laughed, the sound like a waterfall, cheerful and hearty. He used his thumb to wipe away the smear of cheese-sauce on the tip of the redhead's nose. “How does that even go there?” He chided, his put upon exasperation unable to hide the affectionate lilt from his voice.

Reki licked the thumb in front of his face, fake-whining in pain as Langa smacked him lightly on the uninjured arm.

_ ‘What IS going on here??’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohmygod you guys! Thanks for all your kudos and reviews and love! Thanks for reading! <3


	3. Chapter 3

With the shifting and new job and jetlag all hitting her at once, Nanako Hasegawa had barely had any time for her precious son.

“Goodnight, Langa.” She kissed her son’s cheek softly, and moved to turn off the bedside lamp that he’d left on while reading the manga that now laid open beside him on the bed.

Now that she finally had time to take a breather, she felt a little guilty about leaving Langa all by himself. She knew very well that Langa wasn’t like other children- he was a quiet, obedient child, and he never gave her any trouble. But it also meant that if there was anything that bothered him, he wouldn’t bother her about it. 

Beside his head, Langa’s phone vibrated with an unread notification, and Nanako picked it up to place it on the bedside table before he accidentally knocked it to the floor in his sleep. The screen glowed, its wallpaper displaying a selfie of Langa smiling awkwardly at the camera while a fiery haired boy beside him grinned cheekily as he pressed the capture button, and it brought a smile to her lips too, relieved that Langa didn’t have too much trouble finding friends.

* * *

Her relief vanished into thin air when Langa returned home the next day with bandages all over his face. She put the knife down before she went to prison for stabbing whoever dared to hurt her precious son.

“Good afternoon, Langa.” She said carefully.

“Oh, you’re home?” Langa answered from the doorway as he took off his shoes. “Good afternoon.”

“Yeah my work finished early today. Thought I’d come home and spend some time with my dear son..”

“Hmm,” Langa answered noncommittally, brushing past her to grab an apple from the counter, and Nanako shook quietly at the sight of more fading and fresh bruises all over his arms.

“How was school?” She asked instead of what she was really thinking.

“Good.” Langa replied, and resumed chewing. 

_Oh no, he was lying to her!_

“Oh, that’s good.” Nanako picked up her knife for a lack of something better to occupy her hands with. “Did you make any new friends yet?”

“A few.” Langa didn’t elaborate. Nanako swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed away the thoughts in her head that tried to convince her that her son was getting bullied at school, and opened her mouth to just ask him about it...

“I’m gonna go take a shower.” 

At times like this, Nanako really, _really_ missed Oliver.

* * *

Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was around, Nanako added the book to her cart and power-walked to the check-out counter.

She felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her face as the cashier tagged and bagged her book. She felt like a criminal, or a hack. Because who else resorted to buying books like- _“How to Ace at Being a Single Mom” and “How to Talk to Teen Boys So They Talk to You.”_

* * *

Stealthily, Nanako stole a peek at her son as they ate dinner together. Langa had more bruises on him than before, and even though she was trying her best to follow the parenting guidebooks, trying her best to give him time in the hopes that he would, in time approach her with his troubles, it was freaking her out.

The silence stretched on, not uncomfortable, and Nanako had nearly dropped the topic when she noticed the pained wince on her son’s face when biting into the overcooked chicken caused the injury on his cheek to sting.

“What?”

“I was just wondering what’s up with all those injuries..” she trailed off, unsure.

“I tripped.”

Oh no, he’s giving the most cliche of excuses. Was Langa getting into fights? Was he getting bullied? He _had_ been going out late at night these past few days, and when asked, he’d give vague answers like he “Got a job,” or was “Meeting a friend.” Oh no, what if he got involved with delinquents and was peddling drugs, or worse? What would she do then? Oliver would know just what to do in such a situation. But he wasn’t here- _she was_. She prayed internally for strength.

“Skating can be surprisingly difficult.” Langa said, and that broke Nanako out of her spiraling thoughts. 

“Huh? Skating?”

“Yeah skateboarding. My friend’s been teaching me.”

It all made sense now: why he’d been so troubled the past few days, the unexplained injuries, the sneaking around. Nanako felt like a weight had just been lifted off her chest. _He even said he had a friend!_ This is such a big milestone for him- Langa had always had trouble communicating his feelings. Even when they lived in Canada, he didn’t really have many friends. So she was immensely proud of him for having made a friend. She could tear up...

“What?”

“Nothing,” she said. Langa would get embarrassed if she spoke her mind right now. 

“What about you? Is everything fine with your job… and stuff?”

Such a precious child! He was worried about _her_. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” she said, sniffling internally, proud. "Tell me about these friends of yours!"

* * *

  
  
  


“Oh,so you're’ the lovely Mrs Hasegawa. Langa never said how pretty you are, but we all know how he doesn’t really speak much. I’m working on that. He’ll get better, don’t you worry!” 

“Eh?” Nanako said intelligently, sniffling back a sneeze. 

“And so will you.” The redhead reassured him, shifting the bags to one hand and taking her hand in his and shaking it jovially. He had a firm grip, she noticed absently, moving aside to let him into the house without even realizing it.

Before she even had a chance to ask who he was, the redhead had already bundled in, taking off his shoes and replacing them with guest shoes, effortlessly taking off down the corridor like he knew where he was going. “Ah wait…” she called out, but it was too late.

With teetering steps, Nanako followed the redhead into the kitchenette, where he’d set down his armful of bags and was already laying out bowls and cutlery like he’d done this a hundred times before. He looked up, and noticing the concerned frown on her face, explained. “Don’t worry, my chicken soup is amazing, my mom can vouch for that. I couldn’t just leave you guys be when both of you are sick.” He shook his head like he was hearing the silliest thing ever.

“Langa called you over?”

“Hmm, not exactly. But I knew he was lonely.” The smile on his face blinded her. 

There was a tray on his hands, upon which were a glass of orange juice, two slices of chicken sandwiches the likes of which she thought only she knew Langa liked, and a bowl of home cooked chicken soup wafting a tantalizing smell that caused her tastebuds to water despite her flu. “I’m Reki by the way, Langa’s friend.”

> _“Teenagers are prideful and love privacy- they have a deeper understanding of self than adults give them credit for. Make sure to respect their boundaries.”_

Nanako could hear the parenting guidebook nagging at her in her head, which she promptly told to shut up. It’s been over an hour since Reki had showed up at their doorstep at 7 am on a weekend, unannounced, bringing over a meal as hearty and warm as his personality. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that Langa had found himself a very caring boyfriend. 

She couldn’t hear anything coming from the room, and curiosity getting the best of her, Nanako took a deep breath and peeked in through the partially open door to Langa’s room.

Empty bowls and glasses littered the foot of the bed, and she shook her head in disapproval, then in surprise. The bowls were empty, which meant that Langa had eaten everything! Even the honey-ginger tea that she could never ever get him to drink, was down to its last dregs. While Langa never fussed about food, it was also nearly impossible to force Langa to eat anything when he was sick. And Reki had managed the impossible- he'd made sick-Langa finish his meals **and** take his medicine.

This was a miracle!

She looked up, smiled, and regretted not having her camera with her now. Draped in Langa’s favourite blanket, and looking like they’d passed out while watching Netflix together, were Langa and Reki, sleeping soundly against each other.

Closing the door on her way back, Nanako whispered to herself, “Ah, I was worried for nothing. Langa’s in good hands, Oliver.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are the NICEST! I've been too busy to write, so future chapters will be up later than usual. Thank you all for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

“Is Cherry in?”

“Excuse me?” Glasses lowered, the middle aged nurse looked Reki up and down, eyeing the muddy footprints left by him on the linoleum floor with disdain.

“Is Cherry admitted here?” Reki asked again. 

“I’m afraid there’s no one by that name admitted here..” The nurse looked ready to kick Reki out.

“But Cherry... dang it, I meant, Sakurayashiki san.. Is he here?”

The nurse’s hand paused an inch away from the intercom, and she seemed to rethink her decision to call the guards as she recognized the name. A veey prestigious one. One that had little to no chance of being acquainted with a thug-like kid as the one now leaving sweaty handprints all over her sparkling clean desk. “..yes. How are you related to him?”

“I’m a… friend?”

The look she gave him clearly read, _‘Aren’t you too young to be his friend?’_

Reki whipped out his best puppy-dog eyes, and the bouquet of flowers and handmade card finally earned him the jail free pass.

  
  


* * *

“What. Are. You. Doing. Here.” Not a question. A grumbled, tired statement. It seemed the morphine increased Cherry’s irritability instead of lessening it. Reki clicked his tongue.

“Stop dawdling and enter already. I swear, you’re as insufferable as Kojiro sometimes.” 

Reki grinned apologetically and took off his shoes.

“He sent you these.” Reki placed the bouquet in front of Cherry carefully so as to not jostle his bandaged arms.

"Of course he did." Cherry scoffed, and pointed at the empty vase by his bedside table that looked like it was placed there waiting for the very flowers that Reki had been saddled with on his way over. "That idiot." Though the words were venomous, the tone was warm, full of affection.

Reki did as he was asked to, filling the vase with water and placing the flowers in it, his touch lingering on the petals as he mulled over his thoughts. "You guys have been friends a long time, right?”

“Yes.” Cherry could sense Reki needed to talk to someone, and, despite the heavy haze of painkillers he was in, he felt a migraine coming. In spite of how he looked, Kojiro is the one who’s more mature of the two of them, better suited to dealing with emotions and matters of the heart. But Reki had come to **him**. He only hoped he would be able to help.

“I…” Reki paused, wringing his hands together, and started again. “How do you guys resolve…Not that you... Did you guys fight a lot?”

“We still fight.” Cherry pointed out.

“Yeah you do bicker a lot like a married couple."

Cherry sputtered, red dusting the tips of his ears.

"But it’s different...” Reki looked everywhere except at Cherry.

“You want to say you and Langa never fight. But you did, didn’t you? That’s why you’re here.”

“That’s not true. I was.. I was worried about you. That ADAM. I know you guys go way back. But he’s crazy. And I’m worried. Langa, he…”

“Reki.” Cherry’s commanding tone brought Reki out of his spiralling thoughts. “You have to understand. You can’t protect him.”

“But I want to.”

“I know that.” Cherry saw the way Reki looked now- lost and distraught, brows furrowed, dark eyebags speaking of the many sleepless nights spent worrying about the one closest to him. He knew that look because he'd seen the same look on Joe’s face all those years ago, back when Cherry himself too had got himself caught up in the storm that now called himself ADAM. “I know that feeling all too well.”

“However. You can’t.” Cherry reached out, placing his uninjured hand on top of Reki’s comfortingly. “Langa chose this path for himself.”

Reki sighed, a soul-deep exhale accompanied by words that Cherry never expected to hear from someone as passionate as Reki. “I wish I didn’t introduce him to skating...”

“No.” Cherry squeezed Reki’s arm, stopping him before he finished that sentence. “You introduced him to this world. But Langa was the one who chose this path. He chose to skate with you.”

Reki shook his head. “He doesn’t know… He doesn’t understand how dangerous it is. How dangerous it can be..”

“He understands, Reki. He understands it better than you. He’s the one who’s been snowboarding since he could walk. And he came to Japan, a completely new country, where he was all alone, all by himself. And out of all the places he could go to, and all the people he could be with, he chose you as his friend, chose you as his partner.” 

“It’s not like that.” Reki shook his head, Cherry's words seemingly bouncing off the wall he'd built around him in order to protect his own feelings from being hurt. “He promised me he wouln’t race against ADAM. And he still went and…”

“Went and did what Reki? He took up a challenge from a competitor, and did his best to beat him. Can you honestly look me in the eye and say you wouldn’t do the same if someone talked badly about Langa to you and challenged you to a duel?”

“...well, I.. No. But our promise.”

“Reki, don’t you see it?” Cherry’s grip on Reki’s arm tightened. “Langa chose you. He chose to skate _with you_. He couldn’t keep your stupid promise because it was **stupid**. You can’t make promises like that. You can’t expect him to throw away _his_ pride and passion just because _you’re_ a little squeamish.”

“I’m not squeamish… I’m just scared Langa’s going to hurt himself like you-.” Reki bit his lip, knowing he’d said too much. Crossed a line.

“Like I hurt myself racing against ADAM?” Cherry laughed, an empty, heartless sound that held little mirth. “Yes, it’s a risk I was willing to take. And I’m glad I did. Because now I know better.” Cherry shot Reki with a look so firm he couldn’t look away. “And if you don’t want Langa to fare the same fate, then you better support him with all you got.”

“But what if he doesn’t want my help?” The redhead said at length, sounding so lost and confused that Cherry’s heart constricted painfully in his chest.

“Oh you silly boy.” He ruffled the unruly mop of fiery hair affectionately, surprising both the youngster and himself at the action. “Go talk to him. He misses you. A lot.”

“Thanks Cherry.” Reki got up, newfound determination making his eyes blaze with the same fire that Cherry was used to seeing.

As his visitor got up and exited the room, Cherry sighed wistfully and finally glanced a peek at the flowers on his bedside table- warm reds and pastel pinks nestled in a sea of green, the bouquet was subtle and tastefully designed and completely at odds with the person who sent them to him, a man so loud and boisterous, not at all like the flowers that he'd sent him.

Cherry smiled, and closed his eyes. "Idiots.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to get this chapter out much earlier but life happened 😅  
> Thanks for all the kudos and reviews! I appreciate it a lot! ❤️


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